Abbotsford (Abbotsford Canucks) – The American Hockey League announced that forward Ben Berard has been selected to represent the Pacific Division as a member of its 2026 AHL All-Star Roster, presented by BMO. Berard will be Abbotsford’s sole representative at the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic, as defenceman Kirill Kudryavtsev is unable to attend due to injury. Berard is now set to become the fifth player in Abbotsford Canucks history to participate in an AHL All-Star Game and the second player from British Columbia to do so.
Berard, 26, currently leads Abbotsford in points (23) while ranking second in assists (14) and tied for second in goals (nine) while skating in 43 of the club’s 46 regular season games to date. “Ben took advantage of a great opportunity coming into this season and earned everything he’s gotten,” said Johnson. “This is a terrific acknowledgement for Ben, and we are proud to have him be our representative at the All-Star Classic.”
The Duncan, British Columbia native became a full-time member of the Canucks this season after spending the majority of the 2024-25 season on loan to Abbotsford’s ECHL affiliate Kalamazoo Wings. Berard’s 20 goals last season ranked him tied for the team lead, while he ranked second on Kalamazoo with 40 points over 47 games. He also skated in four games with Abbotsford in 2024-25, scoring a goal in his Canucks debut on Nov. 30 at San Jose, and finishing with two goals over four AHL games played.
Berard originally joined the organization by signing a one-year AHL contract on July 31, 2024 and brought previous AHL experience having played for the Texas Stars from 2023-2024. He has now amassed 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) and 25 penalty minutes over 79 AHL regular season games played, as well as seven Calder Cup Playoff games played. Prior to turning professional, he spent three NCAA seasons with Cornell University (ECAC) as well as three full seasons in the BCHL, concluding with being named captain of the Powell River Kings in 2018-19.
The 2026 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Tuesday, Feb. 10 (8 ET/7 CT) will pit the All-Stars from the two Eastern Conference divisions against those from the two Western Conference divisions in seven skills events. In the 2026 AHL All-Star Challenge on Wednesday, Feb. 11 (8 ET/7 CT), the four teams will participate in a 3-on-3, round-robin tournament featuring six games of eight minutes each. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin will face off for the championship in a final eight-minute, 3-on-3 game. For ticket information, fans can visit icehogs.com/asc26.
